New Delhi: As the Omicron edition leads the third COVID-19 wave across the world, New Zealand, which was dealing with the pandemic in an efficient manner, is now reeling from the spread of the virus. As a result, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to postpone her wedding to reduce the spread of Omicron in the country.
The announcement was made on Sunday by Ardern, who said the country was increasing restrictions to prevent community spread of the omicron variant of Covid-19. The news agency Reuters quoted PM Ardern as saying, ‘My marriage will not go ahead.
As Aljazeera reports, “I join many other New Zealanders who have had such an experience as a result of the pandemic and I am deeply sorry for anyone who has been caught in that scenario.”
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern canceled her wedding amid new Omicron restrictions: Reuters pic.twitter.com/Zrn1ngHQOW
— ANI (@ANI) 23 January 2022
While she emphasized that the ‘red setting’ is not a lockdown, there are other restrictions such as mask rules and caps on guests attending any indoor events. If the Vaccine Card is not in use, the maximum limit for indoor hospitality settings such as bars, restaurants and events such as weddings will be reduced from 100 to 25 people.
Although the wedding date of PM Ardern and long-term partner and fishing show host Clark Gayford was yet to be made public, the wedding was to take place soon.
Talking about the cancellation of his wedding, PM Ardern said, “I am no different, dare I say it, thousands of other New Zealanders who have felt the devastating effects of the pandemic, the most I have the inability to sometimes be with a loved one when they are seriously ill. That would be far more painful than any sadness I’ve ever experienced.”
Omicron’s fears of a community outbreak came after a family, who traveled from north to south after attending a wedding, tested positive for the virus. The family with a flight attendant being tested positive clearly points to the virus already in circulation in Auckland, Ardern said.
New Zealand has been isolated since March 2020, when the COVID-19 infection started spreading around the world. By banning flights and mandating state-controlled quarantine for passengers, the country managed to control the spread of COVID-19 and its aftermath to 20 cases a day. So far, these are the first few cases omicron reported in the country.
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